The Year Ahead: Edge Computing Creates Opportunity in 2017

As tech pundits and executives look to the horizon, they see huge demand for edge computing. What they don’t yet see is the infrastructure to support it.

That may change in 2017, as the potential demand drivers for edge computing – which include the Internet of Things, virtual reality and connected cars – gain broader market acceptance. As these predictions materialize into demand for real-world storage and network capacity, the data center industry will reckon with the challenges and opportunities of deploying capacity at the edge of the network.

“You’re going to see some specific vendors getting involved in this, and cloud players getting involved with this,” said David Cappuccio, Distinguished Analyst and Chief of Research at Gartner. “Some companies will do it themselves.”